This was lovely. It was mostly about emotions, so anyone looking for action should go find another book. But the two main characters are likable and engaging and I liked the open discussion of mental problems. Of course, the empath business gives it an extra twist.
I like that there was relatively little discussion about the relationship being gay. Aside from a teenage jerk at school, nobody made an issue out of it. And I liked the description of emotions through Caleb.
Bottom line, this was a sweet story that was not overly complicated, perfect to sink into when you're in that kind of mood. ( )

The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen is a contemporary, YA novel about teenagers who can feel what other people feel - empaths.

This book was weird for me. I liked the first quarter but I thought it might pick up? The contemporary feel and lots of descriptions of how people feel was really cool. But then it just kept going and going and going... for the last little bit of the book it picks up, but by then I was zoned out and wasn't as interested.

Lauren Shippen's writing is fantastic though. I loved how she used her words and described things. That pulled me in right away. I just found this book to be a little too boring for my personal tastes. I need lots of action and movement and this book wasn't that. It's slower, which many readers will love!

The real nice part about this book? LGTBQ representation. Honestly, if it wasn't for how slow this book was I'd say it was a massive hit for me! The honest representation, the feelings of being back in high school (realistic, for the most part) and how the characters act and behave... It felt really good! I can see so many readers loving this book! I highly recommend it to those who like slower paced books with lots of description and are seeking some LGBTQ reps.

It's a pure drama with lots of emotions and it is a great book, just not for me!

Two out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

3.5 Stars

CW: Self harm, depression

I really loved the relationship between Caleb and Adam. I thought the writer captured the blooms of first love so well that I felt warm with the sweetness of it all. The romance is pretty much the main focus of the story. Caleb learning to control his ability through therapy sessions softened that part of the story and it felt less important than the developing relationship. It was an interesting slant on the super power genre and it was a refreshing break to look at the mental health of the enhanced beings rather than reading about them completing Herculean tasks and saving the world. An interesting novel and I look forward to reading the next book.
( )

The Bright Sessions is a podcast that starts as different characters being in therapy with Dr. Bright, a psychiatrist that specializes in people with superhuman or inhuman abilities that are all psychic in nature. You're basically a fly on the wall for the sessions. However, as the podcasts progresses, you start to hear more scenes outside of the office in these characters' day to day interactions and how their abilities hinder or not their normal lives. As a longtime fan of things like X-Men, this was a really interesting and fun podcast to listen to.
This book takes place alongside the first season of the podcast but focuses on Caleb as his ability starts to manifest in high school (a little later than typical of X-Men, which usually has the tipping point at puberty). He gets in trouble at school because he's an empath and the constant barrage of other hormonal teens' emotions has had him on edge, where he finally breaks and punches another student. As part of his punishment, he also has to attend therapy sessions. It's not really explained how his parents picked Dr. Bright but it's a "happy accident" that she's the perfect psychiatrist to help him with his unique problem. Caleb, despite being written as a pretty typical jock, is actually a really lovable and kind character. It could stem from his empathy but I don't believe that would overwrite his personality entirely. Caleb and Adam together are super cute as well. Adam is a normal teenager but has a real problem battling depression and self-harm. He doesn't seem to go to therapy even with neuroscience parents and a past suicide attempt (though he mentions having been in group therapy as part of the recovery) which I thought was strange. We read that he's not hurting himself often now and he's putting on a front for his parents to satisfy them, but it seems really unhealthy that he's basically lying to everyone. As Caleb is an empath, he of course can sense it immediately, but doesn't seem to actually help Adam that much either using outside resources.
So while I enjoyed the book immensely, I think it still had some head scratch moments when it comes to how it handles and details mental health problems and solutions. You definitely have to keep in mind that this is fiction and written by a screenwriter, not a doctor.

I'm kind of bummed with myself for waiting so long to read this, I even had an ARC I won in late 2019 I just never got around to reading. But maybe I was doing myself a favour because I was able to continue right into the sequel which has already sucked me in.

Note: It's hard to tell if you need to be a fan of the podcast before or not but as I was* I think that did add a bit to it for me. This book is written from a different character's point of view with some of the same scenes showing towards the latter part of the book but from that different perspective, but depending on how much of the podcast you've listened to, you have some insight into the questions non-listeners are going to have as they read. I would suggest listening to at least the first season or so first, just because all of that was written before the book but takes place at the same time.
*I kind of stopped listening sometime in 2019 when I went off of drama podcasts but it's sat in my subscriptions updating and waiting for my return. ( )

Overal loved it am sending it to a good friend to read. My only complaints are that the climax was easily predicted and that the end was not fully resolved to my personal likings. I enjoyed the unique way the characters experiences were expressed and of course the romance/ drama was written well not forgotten and not overdone. ( )